How To Know When It’s Time To Outsource When Creating Online Courses

Is it cheating to outsource part of the online course creation process? Absolutely not! Haven’t you ever wondered how some course creators get so much done so quickly? I have fallen into the trap of being a solopreneur and that I had to do it all myself or only I could do it right. Of course now I know that nothing could be further from the truth.

Somewhere a myth got started that you have to do it all to make sure the course is your own. Naturally, you’re free to handle everything, but it’s going to add months to the process.

It’s ALWAYS okay to hire help. Believe it or not, your course will probably be the better for it and your students may get a better experience, not to mention that you can complete its creation quicker and easier.

Is It Time To Outsource?

So, when’s the right time to outsource? Why not start from day one? As soon as you know what you want to teach, what platform you want to use and when you want to launch, it’s time to start planning what to outsource. The reason to start early is so you know exactly what tasks you need to work on yourself. Think carefully about where your strengths lie and outsource the rest.

Your Focus Is The Student

Your only focus is the student. As long as you’re able to create the best possible course for them, you’re doing your job as an online course creator. Think about most businesses for a moment. They have employees that help them create the best products and services for the customer. The business owner is still in charge, but they hire help to make their visions come to life.

The same holds true with online courses. You outsource parts of the project to create a better end result for your students. You may not need to hire full-time staff, but outsourcing allows you to hire people to help you on your terms so you can focus on giving the student the most value for their time and money.

Doing It Alone Is Incredibly Overwhelming

Whether you’re doing this for the first time ever or you’re doing your 20th course, trying to do it all alone is incredibly overwhelming. All that stress doesn’t help you make better courses. In fact, you get discouraged and may even give up entirely. As one online course creator found, outsourcing actually made her online courses more profitable and she didn’t have to do everything on her own.

You Don’t Have To Learn Everything

A common problem with trying to be an entrepreneur is the desire to try and do it all. When you’re trying to launch an online course creation business, there’s a lot to learn. From design and video editing to marketing and accounting, it’s quite a bit to try and juggle all by yourself. Unless you’re somehow an expert on every part of the process, it’s time to outsource.

Spending weeks and months trying to learn every nuance on your own is just going to delay the launch of a great course. So, focus on your strengths and get your course out faster.

A Few Things To Outsource Now

Now comes the big question – what should you outsource? Honestly, there isn’t a single answer, but a general consensus is that you should focus on those activities . It all depends on what tasks you feel you’re best at. Some creators outsource the majority of the project, including content creation. Though this Entrepreneur article focuses on entrepreneurs in general, the advice applies to you too. As a rule of thumb, I’d say tasks that tedious, time-consuming or can easily be done by someone other than you is a contender for outsurcing.

A few things you might want to outsource, especially with your first course, include:

Design – You might have the content all planned out, but making it look good might be more difficult than you’d expect. From your website to presentation slides to worksheets to social media graphics and more, even if you are a Photoshop guru, hiring someone to create these elements will lighten your load.

Tech Stuff – Unless you have built an online course or have an online business, you will probably be introduced to a suite of new software like email marketing systems, landing page software or course platforms. Understanding how the software works is a good thing, but getting all the bits set up and playing nice together can mean many hours of your time, while an expert could whip it up in a few days or weeks. Once your course is launched, outsource the maintenance of your site (if you’re self-hosting).

Video editing – Having someone remove background noise and take out those moments where you start to ramble helps make the course more engaging.

Content writing – You might know exactly what you want to teach, but making it sound interesting is sometimes best left to a ghostwriter. Even if you write the course content, you might still outsource blogging to help market your course.

Accounting – As you start earning, hiring an accountant to handle income, outsourcing costs and taxes could actually help save you money and keep the IRS from knocking on your door.

Obviously, deciding if it’s time to outsource and how much to outsource depends on your budget. Remember, when you outsource, cheaper isn’t always better. Spending a little more could help more in the long run and help you earn more faster.

Still not sure if online course creation is right for you? Contact me today to find out why this career path could be exactly what you’ve been searching for.